It is easy to fall into “The Trap”– worrying that our hobby, and the objects of our affection, will wither away in the hands of upcoming generations. We have been told countless times how today’s youth are far more interested in their smartphones and game consoles than their cars. However, my walk around the Thousand Oaks (CA) High School parking lot recently has served to moderate my pessimism. There is hope!

This uniquely presented Corvair is the source of my newfound optimism. It is driven to school daily by a student. It is immaculately clean and well cared for. While poor lighting prevented me from creating a glare-free image of the interior, I can tell you it is just as clean as the exterior. The highlight? Right there, in the middle of the floor was a glorious gear shifter! Imagine….a kid who drives a manual! Indeed, there is hope!

Now, some CC readers will likely find fault with the plastic faux-chrome wheelcovers and the paint mismatch on the fender. But stop right there. When you were a teenager, could you afford new wheels or perfect paint? Or, were you more likely to work hard just to keep your car fueled and running well? Those cheap wheelcovers look much better than plain black steelies and dull gray lug nuts. Some might also find the chrome-y edge guards a bit off-putting. Fine. But nobody liked everything you did to your car either. How about the fender skirts? Hmmmm….pretty polarizing. Ever seen a Brougham-y 1965-66 Corvair Corsa convertible? Me neither. Kudos for creativity and uniqueness.

I love this car more for what it means that what it is. The fact that this car is parked in the high school parking lot means our hobby will be enjoyed by the upcoming generation. This well-loved Corvair means Ralph Nader was not successful in his attempts to entirely kill unique concepts. This GM oddball means manual transmissions might live on to delight gearheads for another generation. The “110” emblem on the rear deck means this car was kept because it is special even without a turbo. The plastic wheel covers mean the owner/driver of this car may not be rich, but gets due credit for working hard to keep this lovely classic rolling.

I don’t think there are a lot of poor students in Thousand Oaks. I like the fact it has it’s original black and yellow plates. The fender skirts really do give a whole different look to the car. I hope the students are respectful to the car and don’t mess with it. I think it’s a really cool car. I wonder if dad has had it in the family and is passing it down? Great find, cool car.

Absolutely on target. While it easy to be critical and criticize imperfections and shortcomings you are so right that we should be applauding effort. Who knows, this guy (or girl) may go on to really appreciate curbside classics.

BTW; LM Corsas were either 140hp(4 carb) or 180hp(turbo). Either the side emblems are fake or it’s a 180hp Corsa (single exhaust) with a engine compartment lid from another car. Corsa’s also had a different instrument cluster/dash.

Yeah, I miss that car. Those are VTO wheels; http://www.vtowheels.com/ It was a 4 carb,140hp 4 speed. I sold it to someone in Berlin,it’s a foreign car now! Here’s another pic(they’re HD,click on them).

That’s a 1966 turbo convertible. You can tell it’s a turbo because of the exhaust cutout on the right side. Only 581 turbo convertibles were assembled for 1966, making this a pretty rare and desirable beast!

I think I do see a cut out, but that’s either a 95 or 110 hp motor in it. Turbo exhausts have a larger diameter. A turbo motor could easily be put in though, and not that hard to find, especially if you’re in a ‘Vair club.

I think it’s a fair assumption to make that this might be a student’s car, given the JC Whitney wheel covers and chrome edge guards. I would think a teacher or even the Principal would have slightly more adult tastes than shown by those various accoutrements.

As to the car itself, I don’t love the fender skirts, but I don’t hate them, either. I’m kind of mesmerized by them, like I have to keep looking at them. Totally agree with the author’s idea about loving what this car means. Would have loved to have any 2nd-gen Corvair this nice when I was in high school.

I have to agree that there is a glimmer of hope for the youth. I was talking to a parent of one of my kids a few weeks back and she said her son was looking for a car. I suggested a few models I tought would be appropriate for a new driver. She disagreed with a few of my suggestions as her son wanted a manual with rear wheel drive. A few weeks later I stopped by to see a late 80’s or early nineties Toyota supra in the driveway.
When my girls get old enough to drive they are likely going to get a diesel golf with a manual transmission. Not too fast and good luck texting your buddies while driving a stick.

I share that hope, it seems that hope is all we have left. The only part I have a problem with is this quote from the post; “It is driven to school daily by a student.” That’s a big assumption because you saw this car one time in a high school parking lot. Hope shouldn’t be confused with fact. Just sayin’ the words “I hope” in front of that statement would have been appropriate. I drive a classic car daily, you wouldn’t believe some of the assumptions people make about me or my car.

The perception that there are no young people into cars is not so true. There’s typically a generation gap in the car world from what I see. Older guys look at the younger kids with contempt for their styles, their choices of cars, their clothes, iphones, you name it I’ve heard it.
As I am now rapidly approaching my 30th birthday, I’m not really one of the kids anymore. I have friends who are older and younger.
I take my ’59 Beetle or my ’63 VW Bus to a general car event and I get just as much attention from people my age and younger as I do from people who lived in the heyday of my cars. Sure the younger ones don’t know as much about them but the interest is there. Rather than acting like a jerk because every 19 year old hasn’t learned the specs and history of every car made, I see it as an opportunity to spread some knowledge.
I know there are a-holes in the younger crowd but we have to see the difference between a “scene kid” and a budding young car enthusiast.
The majority of my friends, age 20-35 or so, are into cars. Some grew up with car guy dads, others like my friend Bren, did not. At 18 years old he chose a 1st gen RX7 as his first car. Now that my seem like something not vintage but rather than something modern, he wanted a 30 year old, manual gearbox, rotary engined, carbureted car.
I actually need to do a write up on it. Super clean original car.

I’m 20 and located near Thousand Oaks (in beautiful Oxnard), and I see more than a few high school aged kids driving classics. My two friends both have Beetles, one a 62 ragtop and the other both a 67 and 68. My buddy Andy absolutely adores his two Mustang II’s (74 Ghia and 78 coupe). If you go into Ventura, the numbers seem to multiply. Just the other day, I saw two Ventura High School students driving a pristine early Maverick and a 65 Mustang, respectively. And if our 49 Dodge B Series was in any condition to drive, you’d better believe I’d be driving that too!

No doubt, California is still the car center of the universe. You guys are so lucky! Here on the Gulf coast of Florida most folks don’t notice or care. I sold my Corvair because the closest ‘Vair shop was 3 hours away. Nobody local had a clue. In SoCal I’d probably have my choice of shops.

I’m OK with the wheelecovers on this ‘vair. Any thing and I mean anything is better than vandalizing a car with those hideous 20+ inchers. (fortunately those would be hard to do on a Corvair) and the skirts IS a unique touch I wouldn’t have thought of.

Not a fan of the skirts but otherwise a great ride. I’ve always liked the second generation Corvairs, and it’s heartening to see that someone born long after the last one was built appreciates it and keeps it running.

I like the car especially with the skirts. They seem to pick up the theme of the wide c pillars of the convertible top making it seem like a custom car. The hubcaps? who cares? They match, and can be easily exchanged for another style in minutes. A real advantage of running steelies and caps. I know there are still kids out there into cars- It does seem to me that there are less than in my day (late 60s thru 70s). Especially in my neighborhood. I just saw a young twenties girl driving a slammed, primered Integra with the mandatory fart can. Still, it had the perfect stance. I just read an editorial in this month’s issue of “Grassroots Motorsports” entitled “In defense of the Donk.” The editor writes how he always passes by this Chevy Caprice decked out donk style. He sees a 20s something young man fussing with his car in the driveway. He has a conversation with this young man and learns how much effort he has put in building up his car and how much it means to him. The editor than stops by and speaks with the owner of a slammed Japanese sports compact with those big tires that just barely clear the fender openings. He learns how much experimentation it took to achieve the perfect perfect balance of lowered stance and wheel back spacing. The editor said that he had learned that these owners of these cars were enthusiasts just like him. They just had different ideas about how they wanted their cars to look and perform. Which is what makes the automotive scene so interesting. Let’s just give the other guy a little respect and cut the young guys a little slack.

Good to see a classic in use too many are locked away gathering dust, I’m not a fan of spats like this thing wears but am not against modifications, My own classic has been altered within the brand parts bin to make it more useable in modern traffic, if it keeps them running I’m all for it.

The fender skirts aren’t exactly my taste, but they are interesting to be sure. Yeah, the parts-store wheel covers would be better traded out for something else (original caps, moon discs, painted steelies) but it’s a minor quibble. Overall, very nice car, and if it is a student car, what a great choice. If it’s a hand-me-down from Dad or Grandpa, kudos for having the good taste to keep it up! And, as one of the commenters above implied, if it is in fact one of the turbos, then it’s something *really* special!

The skirts are… interesting. Doubt they contribute much to the aerodynamics of the 2nd gen ‘vair [which was already pretty slippery for its time] but they don’t fit w/ the fake spoker wheelcovers: he should have gone w/ simple dishes [mooneyes]. Regardless, it was really great to read that whoever it is, they’re driving a stick! Nothing sadder than a ‘vair saddled with that pathetic 2-sp Powerglide GM saddled them with… Why couldn’t Chevy have adapted the TurboGlide for the Corvair? Talk about a perfect match! But such was not to be…